Self-Serve Shopping

Today I went to the post office to mail a CD to a friend. I discovered that they now have a machine where you can weigh your package and mail it with out the assistance of the postal employees behind the counter. Normally I would be against using this, but do to the holidays they are already overloaded with work and longer hours, so this is helpful to them.
Normally I avoid all of these types of purchasing avenues, the self-check out lines. You now what I am talking about. They have them at Home Depot and most notably at the large grocery stores. I refuse to use them no matter what kind of wait there is, and I urge you to do the same. It upsets me a little that bag-boys union even let these in. If you are asking why, well I will tell you. It's simple math. Most grocery stores have four of these registers with one person usually monitoring them, sometimes none as someone will be splitting their normal work at the customer service counter to cover them. The space taken up by the four self-check registers is equal to what two normal registers would take. To those two registers open would require to cashiers and one bag boy, plus the customer service rep would be able to do here normal duties, and not have to deal with idiot shoppers who don't understand how the self-check works (here's a hint: don't use coupons or purchase alcohol and produce.) This gives us the consumer better overall service. So back to the math.
Four self-check lanes = 1 to 1/2 of an employee to run them.
2 regular lanes = 4 employees.
So by using the self check lane you are essentially talking away 3 people's jobs and and adding stress (via added workload) to a fourth person's life, and all that is achieved by this is more money for the big company that undoubtedly will not be seen in any of their employees Christmas bonuses this year.